Engines may be configured with exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) systems which recirculate exhaust gas from an engine exhaust system to an engine intake system in order to reduce regulated emissions. In some examples, a group of one or more cylinders may have an exhaust manifold that is exclusively coupled to an intake passage of the engine such that the group of cylinders is dedicated, at least under some conditions, to generating exhaust gas for EGR. Such cylinders may be referred to as “donor cylinders.” Further, some EGR systems may include an EGR cooler to reduce a temperature of the recirculated exhaust gas before it enters the intake passage. In such an example, fouling of the EGR cooler may occur when particulate matter (e.g., soot, hydrocarbons, oil, fuel, rust, ash, mineral deposits, and the like) in the exhaust gas accumulate within the EGR cooler, thereby decreasing effectiveness of the EGR cooler and increasing a pressure drop across the EGR cooler as well as temperature of the gas exiting the cooler, resulting in increased emissions and decreased fuel efficiency.